David Hingtgen

myk--the TV/HDTV switch is on the video cable plug itself, itty-bitty little black one, IIRC.

If it's so picky that vertical vs horizontal makes a difference, then it's got to be running right at the limit all the time. It's not like there's another fan that's uncovered when you stand it upright. Also, "just sitting there" should be more than enough for an AC adaptor---having to be "suspended in the air for full ventilation" is frankly ridiculous. I have all my systems (and AC adapters) on the floor, never had anything overheat, from SNES to slim PS2. If every other system is ok, but the 360 won't take those conditions--then it's an issue with the 360, not "how consumers set it up". Nothing should run so hot that you need to "accomodate" it. No electronic equipment does well when it's surrounded, but it seems like the 360 wants nothing less than its own personal fridge.

Iowas were armored for 16/50, that is what they thought Yamato had, as well as being equal to the Iowa's own guns. I still can't find anything about carrier escort etc being considered into the design---it's much more like "well since we're going to be getting a 33kt BB, we might as well think up some tactics on how to use that extra speed---starting with integrating them into carrier task forces". In addition to IJN BB speed, sheer size of the Pacific/supply lines was a reason for the design of the Iowa class. The Philippines were considered the most likely place to be attacked, a long way from Pearl Harbor based ships--thus they wanted ships that could get there quickly.

While the Iowas spent 90% of their time shooting down planes and escorting carriers, they certainly weren't designed for that. They were specifically designed to counter the Yamato class, and little more. Speed was increased over the South Dakota class mainly to keep up with the faster Japanese BB's, as Japan had been rebuilding many of their BB's and had already surpassed the North Carolinas in speed and tied the South Dakotas.

Hmmn. This sounds exactly like what happened at my BB: www.kotaku.com/gaming/best-buy/best-buy-is-full-of-lying-swine-139268.php http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/best-buy/best...wine-139268.php

Only thing I would correct is speed of the AIM-54. Most reliable info I've seen is Mach 3.8 initially, going up to Mach 5 terminal velocity. Janes says "Mach 3+" IIRC. Phoenixes (Phoeni?) going for a max-range launch behave like mini ICBM's---they go WAY high, arc over, then dive down----and so they'll pick up a lot of speed towards the end. An AIM-54 strikes from above. In general, the biggest missiles are the fastest, and the smallest are the slowest. Also---further research shows than for the ECM bumps etc, #1 and #2 always go together. PS---just for clarity, Fox One etc do not refer to specific missiles, it refers to what type of missile it is. Fox One: Semi-Active Radar Guided. So the AIM-4E, AIM-7, Skyflash, R530, AA-10A, etc are all called that on the radio. Fox Two: Heat-seeker. AIM-4G, AIM-9, Python, AA-10B, AA-11, Matra Magic, ASRAAM. Fox Three: Fully Active Radar Guide. AIM-54, AMRAAM, AA-12, Meteor.

There's gotta be at least a thousand Japanese cosplayers that would look 10,000x better and more like Kasumi. And almost anyone looks more like Ayane than a pouty-lipped Norwegian girl... WHY isn't this movie being made in Japan? There's already a zillion DOA hentai movies out there. And I'm sure they're all better than this will be, including plot and acting ability. (Quite possibly the first time I've typed the h-word here)

I keep my 1/700 Musashi right next to my 1/700 Iowa, to show people the size difference. Wonder if we'll get any scenes showing Yamato and Musashi together.

I never sell on Ebay, I've sold a few Yamato valks here before, so I'd just sell it here.

Oooooooooooh. Sundowners are my fave squadron, so of course I love this custom. Tail looks closest to their first F-14 markings, 1979 or so. Grays remind me of an Su-24 more than anything else, which is a rather unique but cool pattern.

From what I've read, I'm currently leaning towards it actually being the power brick, not the system, for most cases. Found an interesting thread that they've already identified 2 different types of power bricks, and swapping them around between systems will make all the difference. Also, considering the massive XBox power cord/adapter recall recently, it may be that MS still has bad powerpack design/suppliers. Of course, Sony recently recalled a lot of slim PS2 power packs, but I've never heard of them causing PS2 failures. Finally---is it really THAT hard to design adequate cooling for electronics? Everything gets "warm" but it seems game systems are far more prone to actual OVERheating. Can't they just add a bigger/faster fan, or more surface area to the sinks, or something? Why does everything lately always seem to run one degree away from failure?

Basically, I plan to get rid of most of my few remaining SNES games, and since I doubt any local store would even know what Scrambled Valkyrie is, I'm wondering if it goes for anything---especially since I believe most people who play it nowadays simply use a ROM and emulator. In case anyone's wondering, mine was MISB when I bought it, and is now as close to that as it can be while having been played. (I still have the plastic wrap with yen price tag) If not, I'll just keep it another 20 years and sell it when vintage import cartridges of any kind are "RARE!!11! L@@K" on Ebay.

The complete guide to Future: http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

I too would recommend a brown color for paneling Milia's

That report has already been retracted/denied on other sites. (At least the price part of it) Anyone know if the PS3 will output PS2/PSX games in 720? My current #1 want for the system.

Soul Calibur was a DC launch title. I remember DC launch day: Walked into BestBuy around noon, picked up my DC and a copy of SC. Had put a whole 10 bucks down... And I still say SC is the best of the SC series, especially music. I really don't know why SC3 has like the worst tracks of 1 and 2 remixed for its music---the majority of SC1's track blow away 2. I really wanted remixed Soul Edge music for SC3 (SE beats even SC1 for music IMHO), especially since Hwang and LiLong are finally back. (OT, sorry) PS---BestBuy bundling seems to be a store-by-store issue, at least a few are reporting non-bundled BB purchases. PPS--at this point, I am wondering how soon a new HD will come out---if I wait 6 to 12 months, will a 40GB one be available, and then get a Core+40GB? (I don't play online, need neither Ethernet nor Headset) And if the presumably coming 40GB has more backwards compatability as shipped, that's a big issue to me. (I really want backwards compatability for as many games as possible--I don't want to have too keep both my XB and 360 hooked up simultaneously to play everything)

::edit:: Could you clarify that? Do you mean 30 bundles and 25 core and 25 premium, or 30 premium and 25 core and 25 separate HD's? I think you're mixing terms or something.

Ouch, 700 for a CORE system? BTW, I only saw one HD in the whole store. Plenty of controllers, cables, and 3rd party faceplates, but only a lone HD. Kind of surprised it's carded and not boxed. PS--yes, both Wal-Mart and BB seem to be going completely against what they say when you call them.

Yup, I just found out about an hour ago Best Buy is only doing bundles. And many people in line are ticked, because they are advertising it alone, if you called the store today and asked they say you don't need a bundle, and nearly every employee policing the line said you could buy the systems alone. But the higher-ups in the store are preparing the bundles, and you can only get a bundle. (Silver or Gold). The thing is---many people waiting in line still don't know that. Only if you go inside and talk to the people at the registers can you get the truth. Plenty of people are upset because 3 hours ago, they were in line all set to fork out 500 for a system and games, but now find out they waited in line for hours for nothing, because they don't have enough cash for the bundle. When I left there still was nothing posted about being sold only in bundles, only if you talked to the right employee would you find out. There were at least a few people circulating along the line trying to inform people, but they were being countered out by all the BB employees who had wrong info. By the time I left there did seem to be one employee going along the line with the RIGHT info, disappointing a lot of people. Not many people in line had brought 700+, or could charge that much. From what I gather they were going to circulate a brochure, and you would mark which bundle you wanted and which games from that bundle, then they'd bundle it up in the store, give you a ticket, then when they open the doors you claim your bundle. (I wasn't going there to get a 360, had no intention of standing in line anywhere tonight, but I just wanted to waste some time at the mall tonight and happened to see the big line forming before I had expected one, so I went on over and talked to people and browsed the HDTV's inside). Sharp Aquos looks nice, especially considering price. Of course, BB's not a good place to evaluate, since the employees always set Contrast and Color to 100, then have half the TV's in the dark and the other half with 500 watt spotlights aimed at them. Person #1 in line had been there since 9AM, Person #20 or so since 1:30PM. (And he was the only guy I talked to who had enough to get a bundle it seemed) PS---it seemed nearly every 12-14 year old in line (there were more of them than I expected) was planning on the Core system and nothing more. They all had just enough for it and tax. That's not even half the money for BB's bundle. PPS---the link I posted earlier with BB's allocation seems accurate, my store did have 40 according to 2 people I talked to. Didn't find out if the 30/10 split was right, but I'm guessing it was since the 40 was right. PPPS---last thing I heard before I left was that they were only going to sell 20 at launch, and were holding back the other 20 for who knows when.

Could all be the settings. There's plenty of 360 out there hooked up to demo HDTV LCD's, yet are set to output 480i!!! Very near my BB's 360 is Shadow of the Colossus on a LCD---looks horribly godawful. That game is NOT meant to be displayed like that. On a typical tube TV it looks very "ethereal" and fantasy-like, and has a nice atmosphere. Kinda like an N64 if it had much better draw-in and sharper textures. But on an LCD HDTV it's the most jaggy thing I've ever seen, and the fog is just GONE, replaced by distinct sheets of transparent white. Interlacing is pretty necessary to look "right" on anything that's not bleeding-edge graphics-wise. Too many store demos are hooked up by the guy who can't tell an RCA connector from component if his life depended on it. Yeesh, the local Sears had their PS2 on a 13in GE television that was older than me, via RF! And yes, it was in their vintage "World of Nintendo" cabinet.

My all time fave books. And I am a staunch believer in the "original" order for reading them. Anyways----going through all the new Narnia stuff at the local Barnes & Noble, I found that there's a lot more illustrations in the newer printings. I've been missing out on like 2/3 or more of the art all these years! I got my set when I was 10 or 11 I think, and have re-read them every few years. I just re-read them a month ago to get ready for the movie, and now I find I'm going to have to go buy a whole new set and re-read it again to get the new (old) art... All these years I had based all my ideas of how Narnia looked on the scant few illustrations in my books---I never knew there was art of so many more things. As for the movie---I thought LOTR was much better as movies than books. However, I feel Narnia will be much better as books than movies. Mainly, I can't help but feel that they "LOTR-ized" the movies as much as possible, to both hope to replicate LOTR's success as well as "that's what people expect nowadays for famous/beloved fantasy books made into movies". I'm seeing all these toys and collectibles based on characters that weren't in the books (mainly talking animals etc---I certainly do not recall a prominent centaur general in Book 1) PS--saw the BBC series when I was probably 13 or 14. Liked it, but since "A Horse and His Boy" is my favorite book and "The Silver Chair" is my least favorite, I was rather disappointed.

As of last night I actually thought Ebay prices were rather cheap for 360's. PS2's went for twice their MSRP easy early on, I've yet to see an $800 360. Quick question for anyone who knows---are *all* Wal-Marts getting 360's for launch day? Because I'm not too far from some pretty small and rural ones. (Of course, everyone else in town is probably thinking the same thing)

X360 opened up and dissected to look inside: http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2610

My PS2 camp story: Went out around 3:30AM, was 17th in line. I think they got in 70. Line grew slowly, was only up to 30 by like 7AM. I could have slept in for like 4 more hours and still gotten one. Only took along M.Dew and granola bars for sustenance. And my pocket GB. However: A. Video games are much more "in" now than 1999. There are simply far more gamers. B. There seem to be far fewer 360's available per store, and fewer chains are getting them. In 1999, my BB got in 70 PS2's in a non-holiday season. Now, with more gamers out there in the general public, just days from Thanksgiving/Xmas shopping spree, they're getting half that many 360's. The next-nearest store to me, serving a city with a population over twice that of my town, is getting in TWO more 360's. Nearest store after that, also twice my town's size, is getting in two FEWER 360's. So I presume the 360 will be MUCH harder to get than the PS2 on launch day. Seriously----how many people had paid pre-orders cancelled on the PS2? I don't think I heard of any. If you pre-ordered and had paid, you got one.

Diecast has no affect on magnets. Diecast is zinc. Regardless of if the legs are diecast, styrene, ABS, or whatever, there must be separate magnets embedded in the legs to attract the FAST pack magnets.